The MIND Diet: A Scientific Approach to Enhancing Brain Function and Helping Prevent Alzheimer's and Dementia

by Maggie Moon

Improve brain health with this easy-to-follow guide to the new breakthrough diet that's shown to keep your mind sharp as you age.

Enjoying a high quality of life as you get older means taking care of your brain as much as your body. And research suggests that what you eat today will help (or hurt) your cognitive abilities later.

The MIND Diet explains the science behind mental fitness in an approachable and understandable way. More importantly, this helpful guide presents an easy-to-follow program for keeping your mind sharp by eating the right foods and avoiding brain-harming ones.

Packed with dishes that are not only delicious but also help improve memory, concentration and mental acuity, The MIND Diet ’s healthy recipes

• Brussels Sprouts Frittata
• Sweet Potato Lentil Soup
• Pistachio Mint Couscous
• Guacamole-Stuffed Tomatoes
• Apricot-Glazed Salmon
• Tango Fish Tacos
• Banana Chocolate Cookies
• Roasted Chicken with Fennel

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Food, Nutrition, Cookbooks, Mental Health

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2021

About the author

Currently working as a nutrition writer, Maggie Moon combines her background in language arts with training in nutrition science to convey accurate evidence-based information to a range of audiences from researchers to consumers.

Maggie Moon was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from U.C. Berkeley, then went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Education from Columbia University Teachers College. She completed her clinical training at New York Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia and Cornell; and has community setting work experience from United Way of NYC, Columbia Head Start, and the Healthy Schools, Healthy Families program of the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian.

She has served on the Executive Committee of the American Dietetic Association’s Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group (2008-2009), the Board for the Greater New York Dietetic Association (2010-2012), and from 2005-2007, Ms. Moon was editor of a publication focusing on nutrition, physiology and public health.

Maggie Moon lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband.



Current professional affiliations include:

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
California State Dietetic Association
Food & Culinary Professionals practice group
Dietitians in Business and Communications practice group
Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition practice group

Reviews

[Roberta]

My dad died from Alzheimer’s and my mom has dementia so any dietary info on brain health is of interest. I went to a lecture based on this book, and then picked it up. It’s the way I basically eat anyway, Mediterranean influenced. Absolutely the opposite of the current fad of paleo and keto. This book does a nice job of explaining the research behind it and to me, is an enjoyable way to eat anyway. The recipes are pretty basic unless you’re not used to eating like this (same with the companion cookbook, which I leafed through. No pun intended) Eat your leafy greens 😊

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a person who is terrified of dementia, I've been sweating on somebody writing a book about the MIND study ever since I read about it a couple of years ago. Finally someone has, and it lays everything out clearly. Easy to read and understand, not too much self-help filler and padding, plenty of useful information to take on board. Combining the Mediterranean and DASH diets, this lifestyle eating plan would be suitable for anyone who wants to improve overall general health as well as try to stave off Alzheimer's.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another Nonfiction Health book to add to my list of reads this year. This one wasn't my favorite, but I still liked reading the information. I appreciated the zeal the author had for the topic on what to eat to help prevent Alzheimers and dementia. She seemed very personable too. I also like that she included most all food and had few food villains. I think if this topic concerns you, you'd like this one. It would be a good starting point.

I have read different health books on brain heath, avoiding diabetes, reversing diabetes, losing weight, body health, sugar in kids diets, the dangers of processed food, anti-inflammatory diets, and a few others. It seems to me that authors are saying very different things....eat this, but never eat that.....just to have another author say the exact opposite. They site there reasoning (as this author did as well). What I'd like to see (and I'm confident it will never happen) is a book that combines all this info....if someone says, eat eggs and someone else says never eat eggs, well, I'd like to see the pro and cons. What are the pro and cons? Do the risks out weigh the benefits or the other way around? Then I could make a truly informed decision. I don't know...I'm just thinking out loud. So 3 stars.

[Melsene G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured this book rather quickly, in two sittings. This is the second book on eating for brain health that I've read and it's all about common sense and smart eating habits. The science is still unsettled here as there aren't enough studies to corroborate the dietary approach. MIND stands for Mediterranean dietary approaches to stop hypertension(DASH) Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. In sum, the best foods for brain health set forth in this book include green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, berries, poultry, fish, whole grains, and the daily 5 ounces of wine. Foods to avoid are red meat, butter and margarine, whole fat cheese, sweets, and fried foods.

There's a great section on the brain and it's really easy to understand-yes, for the layman. The author sets forth basic background info for understanding dementia and Alzheimer's. Then she takes you into the MIND studies and the results. Chapter 3 discusses brain healthy foods which I mentioned above. She talks about the different vitamins that each food contains. Chapter 4 is about Brain Harming foods-to avoid or extremely limit. (See above) There are sections describing the vitamins and minerals in more detail.

Part 2 is the Diet Plan and there are charts and suggestions along with food safety tips. Part 3 has 75 recipes and all are pretty easy to make once you have the right ingredients. Lifestyle of course is key. Get your exercise, have good social relationships, be involved and have hobbies and a purpose. Avoid aluminum and don't take a multivitamin that has copper and iron. Some very helpful tips.

Again, the science is unsettled and we still don't have a cure for Alzheimer's. More resources and research are needed here in my judgment.

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended especially for the aging !!! I had been on the Intermittent Fasting diet , and since I was worried about ‘ senior moments’, I found this to improve brain function and decided to give it a try. I am so happy I did. I felt so much better and energy increased. Illuminated a lot of brain fog !!!

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the detailed explanations of the foods for this diet. Knowing the seasonal availability of the vegetables, how to look for fresh veggies, and how to store was very helpful. I also liked knowing how mental fitness gets tested. The recipes are ranked according to difficulty and there are many to choose from like the steel-cut oat risotto with mushrooms (yum).

[lunarlibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm young still, but getting older enough to see that what I do (or don't do) now can start a domino effect on my well-being as an elderly person. So I picked up this book. Even though it is very scientific and technical and dry at times, it was not an uphill battle to keep reading. (Hmm... wait... maybe I'm older than I think I am.... haha.)

I always thought mental decline (like Alzheimer's and dementia) were luck of the draw. You get it, or you don't, and just cross your fingers that someone helps you when you're helpless, and god why is it that the reward for surviving life is to just get old enough to become more and more dependent and if that's the endpoint then what is the point?? Commence: spiraling.
(Maybe the MIND diet I need is one for mental-emotional health!)

No but really. This book taught me that while, yes, many things are outside of my control, my daily food choices are extremely powerful in upping my statistical chances for a healthy mind. All my grandparents died too young to have a chance to show us if mental decline is in our family genes. But their "younger" deaths were certainly all diet-related too, thanks to the Western diet of red meat and refined sugars and processed foods -- and of course the poverty-stricken life which made that diet the only possible option for so many Americans like my grandparents.

This book does not have me ramped up ready to tackle a diet plan (like weight loss diet books often do). It was a slow-paced scientific look at the specific good effects of good foods and the specific bad effects of having bad food too often. (Caveat: I do not believe in a value system for food. There is not "good" food or "bad" food. There's only food you should have more of, and foods that should be had only in moderation. But it's early in the morning and I somehow finished this technical book without fully finishing my coffee and I'm tired ok?)

I took some very valuable notes and have already started being more aware and mindful of my food choices. Easy modifications or additions have extremely beneficial effects on the brain.

One example is: I love pasta because I am a normal human being. It is easy (and unspeakably healthy) to add sauteed kale to my pasta. Zombies might love brains, but brains love leafy green vegetables.

Another: Butter is actively bad for the brain but olive oil is actively good. So that fresh rye bread I made last night? I dipped it in olive oil instead of spreading butter on it.

Also: This book gave me a whole new respect for the whole grain. I already was leaving toward hearty, seed-filled whole grain bread -- because two months in Europe is enough to show you the piddly fluff we have here in the states is NOT good bread on even the mouth-feel level.

But the not-so-easy thing I must do? Dear reader, I must add beans to my diet. Beans! Like on an every-other-day level! Even a once-a-week plan evokes a lip curl. I don't hate beans, but I do! I just hate them!

[Pablo María Fernández · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always been keen to learn better ways of nutrition. As a teenager I read "Unlimited powers" by Anthony Robbins and a couple of Deepak Chopra's books (I thought those two were serious at that age) and followed their suggestions as revealed truths. Later I read more scientific books on cooking and nutrition and acquired better knowledge on the human body, the right nutrients and proper exercise and sleep. In that continuous interest I found this 2016 book by Maggie Moon. Its title caught my attention and I gave it a try.

She indicates that MIND Diet it’s a combination of the well-known Mediterranean diet with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet (DASH). To be honest I didn’t find anything new. Maybe the best food for the brain is the same as the best food for the rest of the body but you will get here the same recommendation that any other good nutrition book gives: more veggies, beans, water and less sugar, salt and sodas. Sometimes there are a couple of pages of study details and their results that I least for me weren’t useful so I skipped them (maybe they could be included as an annex).

Having said that, I like that she groups food into 15 groups, five to avoid, which sometimes makes it easier for the reader to make decisions. I like that she doesn’t condemn certain types of food or talks about “superfood” like other new-age authors but suggests eating more of the healthy ones and less of the other ones. There is also a nice theory introduction about the brain, cognition, cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer. Having a father who passed away last year with that illness, it was important for me to understand it better. Moon also provides plenty of recipes to make it easier to get started. Unfortunately many of the described ingredients aren’t available here in Argentina but I will try to find at least a couple of them at specialty shops.

In summary, I think this book has an updated vision on how to eat correctly. Taking into account that nowadays many of the best selling books on this field are extreme diets (many times without proper research) this may be interesting for someone interested in getting better nutrition from a scientific perspective.

[Heather]

I've always been fascinated by the mind-body connection, so I enjoyed the easy-to-follow section about why some of these foods are healthier for our minds vs. why some more negatively impact our memories and cognition. Like other nutrition info about lots of diets out there, the science is still being studied and better understood... But in general, I was surprised by how powerful the current info seems to be surrounding some of these food groups!  For those interested, MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. I've been trying to read more about our minds as I've been caring for my mom more, and the doctors always talk so highly about how diet change is more beneficial than medication. 

Basically, the best foods for brain health that they discuss in this book include green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, berries, poultry, fish, whole grains, and the daily 5 ounces of wine. Foods to avoid are red meat, butter and margarine, whole fat cheese, sweets, and fried foods. I was surprised to read about how they recommend having nuts 5 days a week! Although I know I'm not going to realistically be able to limit my cheese intake to only once every couple weeks, I'm going to give it a shot to see if I can improve my eating habits a little... every little change can help!

[Janie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Elinor +1, Mercury +0

The study population was a cross section of people from the Memory and Aging Project (MAP) in Chicago, who passed away between 2004 and 2013. Diet information was collected regularly as part of the MAP study, and out of 554 deceased participants, about half (48.4 percent) had brain autopsies. Not surprisingly, the researchers found that eating more seafood did indeed lead to higher levels of mercury in the brain. Surprisingly, when it came to Alzheimer's disease, eating more than one seafood meal per week was associated with healthier brains even with higher levels of mercury in the brain. The neuritic plaques and tangles were more sparse in the fish eaters than those who didn't eat fish, who tended to have more severe and widespread tangles and a higher concentration of brain plaques.

* text p79, reference p280: Morris, M.C., J. Brockman ... et al. "Association of seafood consumption, brain mercury level, and APOE e4 brain status with brain neuropathy in older adults." JAMA (2016): 315.

[Milan Buno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viete, ktoré potraviny posilnia váš mozog, zlepšia pamäť a udržia vašu myseľ sviežu a vo forme aj s pribúdajúcim vekom?
Presne o tom je kniha Výživa pre zdravú myseľ, plná tipov, rád. Je praktická, využiteľná, pričom autorka Maggie Moon je vedkyňa a registrovaná dietologička, čiže odborníčka.
Ponúka aj konkrétny program na udržanie sviežej mysle, čo presne a koľko jesť. Pridáva zdravé recepty, jednoduché, rýchle, je ich 75 a sú navrhnuté poprednými odborníkmi na výživu. Tiež v knihe nájdeme kuchynské zlepšováky, netradičné využitie potravín ap.

Netreba zabúdať, že mozog je najhladnejší orgán v tele, spotrebuje až 20% denných kalórií a pritom veľakrát nemyslíme na to, čo mu dodávame a či je to zdravé. V knihe je tak 10 potravín, ktoré nášmu mozgu prospievajú, mali by sme ich jesť často, striedať ich, nezabúdať na ne... a tiež 5 potravín, ktoré zasa mozgu nesedia, neprospievajú mu.

Dozviete sa viac o stredomorskej strave, aj DASH diéte. O tom ako podporiť koncentráciu, pamäť a čo jesť, ak sa začnú objavovať príznaky Alzheimerovej choroby.

[J.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um bom livro para aprofundar seu conhecimento sobre alimentos e hábitos alimentares e a relação destes com a longevidade. O livro contém também várias receitas. Apesar do título sugerir tratar-se de um livro propondo uma "nova dieta", é na verdade uma mistura da "dieta" mediterrânea e o "padrão dietário"(sic) DASH (traduzindo livremente do inglês, significa "abordagem dietária para prever a hipertensão"), este sim mais próximo de um tratamento médico que uma dieta da moda. Apesar de algumas passagens sugerirem que a autora advoga pelo veganismo, o livro aborda o consumo de carnes de uma forma neutra e contém receitas com carnes. Acho que é um bom livro para ter na cozinha.

[Stephen Antczak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of solid, scientifically supported advice here for how to lower your risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease later in life. My only quibble is that books like this provide a bunch of recipes that tend to be outside the scope of what I normally prepare. It would also be interesting to see a more in-depth look at how one's diet, lifestyle, and environment interact with one's genetic make-up and family history when it comes to risk for dementia, Alzheimer's, cardio-vascular disease, cancer, alcoholism, obesity, etc.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard about the MIND Diet at a presentation from the Alzheimer’s Association at the library. It’s a combination of the DASH Diet and the Mediterranean Diet. Really, it’s logical choices but has a scoring system of how you’re eating. Focus is on whole grains, leafy greens, lean protein (poultry and fish), and WINE.

The recipes in this one don’t look too groundbreaking but I learned a lot about the science behind this diet.

[Julie Callicutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

There isn't much new here unless you have hidden yourself under a rock for the last era or decade. A lot is known to the science world of the nutrient value that certain foods possess. It was interesting which foods slow cognitive decline, and the broad health benefits of specific types of food, such as beans. If you're looking for something specific on prevention of Alzheimer's or dementia, this book may have what you're looking for.

[Caryn Stroh · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much potential. Really enjoyed the easy to follow explanations of how food enhances cognitive ability but I am frustrated by 1: the predominantly korean-spiced and korean ingredients in the recipes. I wish that info had been up front in the description. #2: The ingredients aren't accurately listed in at least one recipe. Id gone through the recipes, gone shopping for several meals and find, when I start to make there's several additional ingredients in the instructions. Watch.

[Linda Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This diet was recommended for Parkinson’s patients so I read it to supplement nutritional information I’ve gleaned from other sources. There is bountiful scientific information, guides for menu planning and formats to keep track of how well you are doing. This isn’t a lose weight diet but rather a guide to better brain health.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband was recently diagnosed with MCI. The neuropsychologist recommend this book. We found we already are eating the MIND diet. Well, actually, we are eating even better. Low carb, high protein, extremely rare sugary treats. One thing I added after reading this book is 3 ounces of wine every evening :)

[DENISE TALBOT · Rating 3 out of 5]

He leído otros libros sobre el Alzheimer y considero que la dieta mediterránea y el vino no es lo mejor para prevenir el Alzheimer . Si estoy de acuerdo en una dieta basada en verduras y grasas no saturadas .
No hablan sobre el ayuno intermitente ni la dieta keto que considero es lo ideal para evitar enfermedades neurodegenrativas

[Natalie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly recommend.
A psychologist advised me that it is of use to everyone and their brain function, not just those with risks of dementia. Interesting read and easy to follow; clear notes on where they are getting their research from. Hard to imagine changing my food routine, but have learned some cool tips and tricks.

[Nancie Lafferty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear explanations of this diet which combines the Mediterranean and DASH diets with research on Alzheimer’s and dementia to come up with a nice, simple way to eat healthy and promote brain health. A nice review of healthy food choices with some less than well known foods thrown in. Nice recipes.

[Lee Rush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and inspiring reference for a healthier new year. Great combination of Mediterranean and DASH diets for healthier living. Looking forward to using this as a reference book for a healthier new year!

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fast overview

It's new. Find out what the buzz is. Engaged some healthy tips on how to kickstart this new way of eating into your daily life.

[Christine Schmidt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recommended by my sister, we will see how this governs my 2018.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of epidemiology. Some of the recopies seemed to be too high in sugar

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting diet. Haven't given it a try yet.

[Jamie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information laid out in a simple manner. All of the charts are very helpful.

[Anne Mareck · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mind Diet is an easy read, closely supported by quality references, useful examples, and reputable recommendations.

afmaref50@yahoo.com

[Dee Tighe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good recipes.

[Beth Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too strict for some who may have specific diet limitations. No mention how to accommodate for restrictions. Still good ideas and recipes though. Also, lots of interesting nutrition information.